In this remarkable true story of spiritual transformation, Dr. Parti provides rare details of heaven, hell, the afterlife, and angels. In sharing the lessons and eternal truths from the divine that changed him forever, Dr. Parti offers his audience the opportunity to attain peace and live better lives here on earth.

Materialist experiences Spiritual wake up call

By
Diana
on
08-25-16

My Journey to Heaven

By:
Marvin J. Besteman,
Lorilee Craker

Narrated by:
Maurice England

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

88

Performance

71

Story

72

On April 28, 2006, as he lay in his hospital bed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, visions of celestial beauty were the last thing on Marv Besteman's mind. He had just had surgery to remove a rare pancreatic tumor. It was after visiting hours and his family had left for the day. Alone and racked with pain, Marv tossed and turned, wanting more than anything else to simply sleep and escape the misery and discomfort for a while. The retired banker, father, and grandfather had no idea he was about to get a short reprieve....

Biblically Accurate!

By
Emma-Louise Bussey
on
05-31-14

Chasing Heaven

What Dying Taught Me About Living

By:
Crystal McVea,
Alex Tresniowski

Narrated by:
Crystal McVea

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

12

Performance

10

Story

10

On December 10, 2009, Crystal McVea was being treated in a hospital for pancreatitis. Her heart stopped pumping for nine minutes before doctors managed to revive her. In those nine minutes, she went to heaven, stood with God, and was forever changed.

didn't read book one

By
Artheliameadows62
on
07-22-16

7 Lessons from Heaven

How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life

By:
Mary C. Neal MD

Narrated by:
January LaVoy

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

105

Performance

92

Story

93

Dr. Mary Neal's unforgettable account of a 1999 kayaking accident that took her life, and what happened next, has riveted more than a million listeners. But something happened as she shared her story in the years since. Not only did Neal realize she had more to tell, she discovered she had yet to answer the biggest question of all: How does knowing heaven is real change our lives on Earth?

Eye opening

By
Deb
on
10-17-17

Appointments with Heaven

The True Story of a Country Doctor's Healing Encounters with the Hereafter

By:
Dr. Reggie Anderson

Narrated by:
Eric G. Dove

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

394

Performance

353

Story

348

When a patient first asked Dr. Reggie Anderson to sit at her bedside as she passed from this life, something miraculous happened. As he held her hand, the veil between this world and the next parted…and he received an astonishing glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. Little did he know this was just a foretaste of what was to come - a lifetime of God-given "appointments with heaven." Join Reggie as he shares remarkable stories from his life and practice, including the personal tragedy that nearly drove him away from faith forever.

A beautiful and spiritual American family memoir

By
Diana
on
06-22-14

Heaven: An Unexpected Journey

One Man's Experience with Heaven, Angels, and the Afterlife

By:
Jim Woodford,
Thom Gardner

Narrated by:
William Crockett

Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins

Unabridged

Overall

20

Performance

18

Story

18

Jim was never a religious man. When it came to matters of God and faith, he was ambivalent. But as he lay in the hospital bed, clinically dead for more than 11 hours, his consciousness was transported to the wonders of Heaven and the horrors of hell. When he returned to this world, he brought back the missing piece his soul had been longing for.

Unexpected Grace & Unexpected Truth

By
Philip Anderson
on
09-15-17

Dying to Wake Up

A Doctor's Voyage into the Afterlife and the Wisdom He Brought Back

By:
Paul Perry,
Raymond Moody Jr. MD PhD,
Rajiv Parti M.D.

Narrated by:
Steve West

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

389

Performance

353

Story

349

In this remarkable true story of spiritual transformation, Dr. Parti provides rare details of heaven, hell, the afterlife, and angels. In sharing the lessons and eternal truths from the divine that changed him forever, Dr. Parti offers his audience the opportunity to attain peace and live better lives here on earth.

Materialist experiences Spiritual wake up call

By
Diana
on
08-25-16

My Journey to Heaven

By:
Marvin J. Besteman,
Lorilee Craker

Narrated by:
Maurice England

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

88

Performance

71

Story

72

On April 28, 2006, as he lay in his hospital bed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, visions of celestial beauty were the last thing on Marv Besteman's mind. He had just had surgery to remove a rare pancreatic tumor. It was after visiting hours and his family had left for the day. Alone and racked with pain, Marv tossed and turned, wanting more than anything else to simply sleep and escape the misery and discomfort for a while. The retired banker, father, and grandfather had no idea he was about to get a short reprieve....

Biblically Accurate!

By
Emma-Louise Bussey
on
05-31-14

Chasing Heaven

What Dying Taught Me About Living

By:
Crystal McVea,
Alex Tresniowski

Narrated by:
Crystal McVea

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

12

Performance

10

Story

10

On December 10, 2009, Crystal McVea was being treated in a hospital for pancreatitis. Her heart stopped pumping for nine minutes before doctors managed to revive her. In those nine minutes, she went to heaven, stood with God, and was forever changed.

didn't read book one

By
Artheliameadows62
on
07-22-16

7 Lessons from Heaven

How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life

By:
Mary C. Neal MD

Narrated by:
January LaVoy

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

105

Performance

92

Story

93

Dr. Mary Neal's unforgettable account of a 1999 kayaking accident that took her life, and what happened next, has riveted more than a million listeners. But something happened as she shared her story in the years since. Not only did Neal realize she had more to tell, she discovered she had yet to answer the biggest question of all: How does knowing heaven is real change our lives on Earth?

Eye opening

By
Deb
on
10-17-17

Appointments with Heaven

The True Story of a Country Doctor's Healing Encounters with the Hereafter

By:
Dr. Reggie Anderson

Narrated by:
Eric G. Dove

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

394

Performance

353

Story

348

When a patient first asked Dr. Reggie Anderson to sit at her bedside as she passed from this life, something miraculous happened. As he held her hand, the veil between this world and the next parted…and he received an astonishing glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. Little did he know this was just a foretaste of what was to come - a lifetime of God-given "appointments with heaven." Join Reggie as he shares remarkable stories from his life and practice, including the personal tragedy that nearly drove him away from faith forever.

A beautiful and spiritual American family memoir

By
Diana
on
06-22-14

Heaven: An Unexpected Journey

One Man's Experience with Heaven, Angels, and the Afterlife

By:
Jim Woodford,
Thom Gardner

Narrated by:
William Crockett

Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins

Unabridged

Overall

20

Performance

18

Story

18

Jim was never a religious man. When it came to matters of God and faith, he was ambivalent. But as he lay in the hospital bed, clinically dead for more than 11 hours, his consciousness was transported to the wonders of Heaven and the horrors of hell. When he returned to this world, he brought back the missing piece his soul had been longing for.

Unexpected Grace & Unexpected Truth

By
Philip Anderson
on
09-15-17

Life Between Heaven and Earth

What You Didn't Know About the World Hereafter (and How It Can Help You)

By:
George Anderson,
Andrew Barone

Narrated by:
full cast

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

181

Performance

159

Story

157

We live in a world of near-universal acceptance that once our lives on the Earth come to an end, we continue to a greater world. Whether that destination is called heaven, nirvana, or simply the other side, tradition teaches us that there is, in most cases, a fairy-tale ending to life, a place where joy and harmony reign supreme. Yet, as this book attests, there is still more to heaven and Earth than is dreamt of in our philosophies.

not very helpful

By
E. Kepner
on
10-29-16

My Time in Heaven

By:
Richard Sigmund

Narrated by:
Patrick Lawlor

Length: 5 hrs

Unabridged

Overall

48

Performance

41

Story

41

Is there life after death? After a tragic accident, doctors pronounced Richard Sigmund legally dead. Eight hours later, God miraculously brought him back to life on the way to the morgue. During those hours, God allowed him to experience the glorious beauty, heavenly sounds, sweet aromas, and boundless joys of heaven that await every believer. God then returned him to earth with a mission to tell the world what he saw.

Best Book on visiting Heaven

By
Amazon Customer
on
02-01-15

The Map of Heaven

How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife

By:
Eben Alexander M.D.

Narrated by:
Eben Alexander M.D.

Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

340

Performance

293

Story

289

The author of the number-one
New York Times best seller
Proof of Heaven teams up with the sages of times past, modern scientists, and with ordinary people who have had profound spiritual experiences to show the reality of heaven and our true identities as spiritual beings. When
Proof of Heaven was published, some people contacted Dr. Eben Alexander to argue that his near death experience was impossible. But many more have written to say his story resonated with them in profound ways.

Wonderful book

By
Byron Leavitt
on
07-10-15

We Don’t Die

George Anderson’s Conversations with the Other Side

By:
Joel Martin,
Patricia Romanowski

Narrated by:
Tom Zingarelli

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Unabridged

Overall

129

Performance

111

Story

108

For over 12 years, Joel Martin documented evidence of Anderson's powers - the ability to reach "the other side" - and repeatedly astonished believers and skeptics. This is the book of those universal visions, the inspiring messages of hope, truth, and peace, and a glimpse into eternity to answers to the unfathomable questions about life and death.

Holy rolly polley. so intriguing

By
Rock you like a Weezycane
on
03-15-17

Living in a Mindful Universe

A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness

By:
Eben Alexander MD,
Karen Newell

Narrated by:
Karen Newell,
Eben Alexander MD

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

42

Performance

41

Story

39

In
Living in a Mindful Universe, the
New York Times bestselling author of
Proof of Heaven and
The Map of Heaven shares his insights into the true nature of consciousness. Embracing his radically new worldview, he began a committed program of personal exploration into non-local consciousness. Along the way, he met Karen Newell, who had spent most of her lifetime living the worldview he had only just discovered was possible. Her personal knowledge came from testing various techniques and theories as part of her daily routine.

An update on what's happened since Proof of Heaven

By
Diana
on
10-23-17

Flight to Heaven

A Plane Crash...a Lone Survivor...a Journey to Heaven - and Back

By:
Dale Black

Narrated by:
Dale Black

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Unabridged

Overall

144

Performance

118

Story

114

At age 19, pilot Dale Black miraculously survived an airplane crash that killed the other two pilots on board. Hovering between life and death for three days, he had a breathtaking experience of heaven. Against all odds and with insurmountable injuries, Capt. Black recovered from his injuries and returned to fly airplanes as a professional pilot. For 40 years he kept the story to himself at the urging of his grandfather to "live" his experience rather than talk about it.

Great Story of Recovery and Faith

By
John
on
01-12-13

Heaven Is a Breath Away

An Unexpected Journey to Heaven and Back

By:
Valerie Paters,
Cheryl Schuelke

Narrated by:
Amanda Fugate-Moss

Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins

Unabridged

Overall

32

Performance

32

Story

32

When a massive pileup on an Arizona highway caused Valerie Paters and her Jeep to be entombed beneath a semi-truck in a blinding snowstorm, it seemed certain that her life would soon end. Once extracted from the mangled metal, and suffering from massive injuries, Valerie was hospitalized and placed on life support while doctors waited to harvest her organs. But Valerie was more alive than she had ever been.

A Moving and Inspirational Journey

By
Teresa
on
07-19-16

The Light Between Us

Stories From Heaven. Lessons for the Living.

By:
Laura Lynne Jackson

Narrated by:
Laura Lynne Jackson

Length: 8 hrs

Unabridged

Overall

834

Performance

752

Story

753

Jackson writes with clarity and grace, using her unique perspective to address the eternal questions that vex us all: Why are we here? What happens when we die? How do we find our true paths in this life? Here, too, are deeply affecting accounts of ordinary people reunited with their departed friends and family members

MY FIRST POINT OF LIGHT, MY FIRST LESSON

By
Sheelah Kaye Stepkin
on
11-02-15

Proof of Angels

The Definitive Book on the Reality of Angels and the Surprising Role They Play in Each of Our Lives

By:
Ptolemy Tompkins - introduction,
Tyler Beddoes,
Ptolemy Tompkins

Narrated by:
Kirby Heyborne

Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins

Unabridged

Overall

85

Performance

79

Story

79

In March 2015, millions worldwide were captivated by news reports of the dramatic rescue of an 18-month-old girl, Lily Groesbeck, who'd somehow survived 14 hours in an overturned car partially submerged in an icy-cold Utah river after her mother apparently lost control of the vehicle. A voice the four responding officers assumed was the child's mother still trapped inside spurred them on: "Help me, help me." Yet once the two victims were recovered, it was clear that the voice could not have come from Lily's mother: She'd been killed on impact.

Amazing!

By
Teri
on
02-24-16

Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations

Ten True Stories of Experiencing Heaven

By:
Sid Roth,
Lonnie Lane

Narrated by:
William Crockett

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

19

Performance

16

Story

16

These true stories are your unique, personal opportunities to enjoy a taste of Heaven from here on earth.
Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations shares the testimonies of 10 ordinary people who have been to Heaven - having died and returned, or in a vision or dream. These real-life, modern-day stories inspire faith that, no matter what happens here on earth, all troubles are momentary, light afflictions compared to the glory that awaits you in Heaven.

I loved this book amazing !!!!

By
April
on
10-09-17

Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences

By:
Jeffrey Long,
Paul Perry

Narrated by:
Bob Dunsworth

Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins

Unabridged

Overall

288

Performance

251

Story

251

Evidence of the Afterlife shares the firsthand accounts of people who have died and lived to tell about it. Through their work at the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, radiation oncologist Jeffrey Long and his wife, Jody, have gathered thousands of accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) from all over the world.

comprehensive

By
geoff
on
10-26-11

Life After Heaven

How My Time in Heaven Can Transform Your Life on Earth

By:
Steven R. Musick,
Paul J. Pastor

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

27

Performance

24

Story

25

A deadly medical mistake sent a navy sailor to the presence of Jesus in heaven. He returned from his near-death experience with new eyes to see the kingdom of heaven in this life. Now he wants to help you experience heaven on earth today.

This book truly inspired me

By
Michael E. Puskas
on
12-03-17

Publisher's Summary

The remarkable story of a woman, plagued with guilt and skepticism, dramatically changed by the nine minutes she spent in heaven.

God let me see me through His eyes. And in that instant I knew that God had always loved me, through all of those dark and difficult years when I doubted His existence, through every crisis and every heartbreak that made me turn away from Him more. I knew, in that instant, that His love was endless and boundless, and that if He loved me so much, how could I not love myself?

For most of her life, Crystal McVea was a skeptic whose history of abuse and bad choices made her feel beyond the reach of God - who questioned if God was even real. She had all but given up hope. Then came December 10, 2009...and the moment that changed everything.

For nine minutes that night, Crystal went into full respiratory arrest. She was unconscious and unable to breathe on her own, unaware of the crisis happening around her as the hospital staff rushed to save her life. Crystal doesn't remember the trauma or losing consciousness; she just remembers waking up in heaven, next to God.

Waking Up in Heaven invites listeners to witness the relentless pursuit of God in a life that was broken and seemingly beyond hope, an awe-inspiring account of love, forgiveness, and redemption, and the healing power of God's presence.

worst book of this genre Ive listened to/read

Would you try another book from Crystal McVea and Alex Tresniowski and/or Crystal McVea?

Probably not. Although a nice and gentle sounding soul, unfortunately one of my pet peeves makes repeated appearances. The mispronunciation of "especially" vs "expecially". Everyone has their own literary peeves, this one grinds on me. The book is essentially an autobiography. The amount of time dedicated to the actual experience is perhaps 5% of the text.

What do you think your next listen will be?

"Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin. Have read it before but wanted to experience it again.

Would you be willing to try another one of Crystal McVea’s performances?

No. See above re: pronunciation concerns.

What character would you cut from Waking Up in Heaven?

I would cut out a lot of what I would call filler. This book needs more substance.

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your money on this one. I love reading about experiences in heaven. This is perhaps the 8thbook I have read on the subject; and isn't in the same league at all. It drug on and on.

Good book, great true life story

Where does Waking Up in Heaven rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to many, many Audio Books. All different subjects and many on NDE experiences. This book was different and refreshing to me, maybe because there are so many NDE books and stories that are similar that this one stood out to me better because she cared enough and was brave enough to tell her life story, that is a big thing for someone to do and should not be discounted. She is not a writer nor did she set out trying to write the next best selling novel, this is a simple thing really, a true life story. Maybe it is because I am around her age, I experienced similar things growing up and I could relate. Maybe because I am a mother as well. I suppose if you do not have children you may not understand how heart wrenching some of this is. The way this is written pulled me right into her life and I cried more times than I would want to admit. Her telling her life story is what made the difference for me. Because of this is why the rest made sense and was great. You are completely missing the point if you think this book is to be about just her NDE, that is not the case at all, this book is meant to be so much more. It is meant to help people, all kinds to stop thinking and judging so critical, stop your eye rolling at people, and just open your eyes to the bigger picture here. It is about all of it, the true purpose of not just the faith we should have but the proof as well, to serve a purpose of showing this in such a basic and simple way, there is more to life, there is more to us, and more to life after life. If you read enough of all of these subjects, Edgar Cayce and the other many books relating then you can start to piece this all together for yourself. Who is anyone to judge anyone else? You feel what you feel and that is fine, but being so overly critical that you miss the point entirely is just sad. Hopefully others will get it, and see the simple thing this book offers and appreciate the story of it. Not everyone is ready for Quantum Physics, or even an Edgar Cayce book, this is a great book for the majority of the public stuck on TV these days watching too many reality shows and crap. This book would be helpful for many I feel. Open your eyes a little to see more of life. You do not have to live on the streets as a prostitute to have lived a hard life, and her story and emotional pain is severe compared to most of us who grow up pretty regular.

Far fetched

Any additional comments?

Honestly I find her story hard to believe and unconvincing . I'm sorry 😔 lots of people doubt her revelations and roll their eyes for reason , the personality of a person tells a lot . Maybe she looks weird or a bit insane so people were not buying her story.

Not a whole lot about her experience in Heaven

I love books about Near Death Experiences. This book, however, had very little to do with that and was mostly about Crystal's challenges in life.. While I applaud her for not letting life pull her down, I have to say, many people have gone through many of the same challenges she has, including myself, but I doubt any one would want to read a book about my life..

It became way too evangelistic for me half way through.. If you are an evangelistic Christian, you'll probably really enjoy this book, but if you are someone who doesn't like religion trying to make people feel guilty and shameful for living a life, and blaming all things bad on Satan, then you'll probably be really annoyed by parts of this book...

If you are looking for books having to do with NDE, you might want to pass on this one. She alludes to her visit in Heaven and talking to God here and there, but there's really very little information about how this happened to her or what the experience was like.. I mean, she talks about it, but not in depth and not very much...The book is basically a biography of her life..

Naive

Waking Up In Heaven is a new entry into the same genre as Proof of Heaven (Alexander) and To Heaven and Back (Neal). For lack of a better term, the afterlife genre. It's written by Crystal McVea and she narrates her own story of dying and getting to heaven and returning.

The book is laid out cleverly - with a flash of what she saw in the afterlife, followed by hours of her life story, followed by minute two in Heaven, back to hours of her life story... a slick arrangement designed to keep the reader/listener plowing through to find out the answer to the only interesting question here: what happened after you died?

I suppose the life story is to establish her credibility.She tells us in the beginning that she is the ultimate sinner, having broken all ten Commandments. All. Ten. But I have to say, her shadowy past was pretty lame for someone claiming to be the ultimate sinner. It didn't seem to me that she fell that far. (i.e. she was never on drugs, never on the street, never stole, never prostituted, never hurt another person with malice, etc.) I won't tell you what she bases her claim of ultimate sinfulness on since I'm not writing spoilers here, but I was not impressed with her claim to baseness.

I did believe her claims of abuse and those claims explain her internal struggles better than the sin hypothesis. But where she and I really parted company was her insistence that she honestly believed God was punishing her for her pretty ordinary sins by inflicting traumatic brain injury on her three-year-old son. Oh, come on. Who would worship a God like that whether he/she exists or not?

In all these books, the credibility of the witness is important so we can decide what we think of their story. And here, Crystal McVea runs into some trouble. Listening to her life story (unavoidable if we want to find out what she experienced) she came across to me like one of those people who changes themselves to match whoever they are involved with/married to at the time.

So, when she meets and marries her current husband (who, though she was done with men forever, happened in less than four months - she introduced him to her six-year-old daughter after only a month!) and he is a devout Christian, life changes.

She runs into two cases of demonic possession in otherwise normal friends, something her husband is prepared to deal with, is prompted by God to leave a hundred dollar tip on a one dollar bill (something her husband finds out is the answer to a prayer) and, last but not least, a trip to the pearly gates. If Occam's Razor applies (the principle that the simplest solution is usually correct) this testimony seems much more earthly inspired than divine.

But Crystal tells us multiple times in the introduction, we will only believe her if we chose to. I guess that's true with everything, but, for me, her case did not add anything persuasive to the discussion one way or another. Skip this one.

Disappointing & Blah

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not sure who would enjoy this book especially if they've read/listened to the numerous other NDE books out there. I've read many of them where the focus is on the experience & this book was about her life history. I was excited about starting it, but its nothing like the other books unfortunately. It's more her autobiography, much, much less about her NDE experience.

What could Crystal McVea and Alex Tresniowski have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focus much more of the story on her NDE experience & much less about her life's story. Also, her narration was difficult to listen to & monotone.

How could the performance have been better?

A good narrator would be a big improvement. Story might be more bearable. I couldn't finish this book. It was boring & too long.

God works in mysterious ways! God is good!

My husband and I listened to Crystal on our trip to visit our daughter, a recovering addict. Our daughter is the one who told me about this book! We lost our oldest son three years ago. i thought, Waking Up in Heaven, would tell me about Heaven, it did not, but told me more! I have no doubt my son is in Heaven! I wanted to know what he is doing while there. Crystal's story helps reinforce God's love for us. No matter what we do God is there to speak to us and show us He loves us. No mayer what we have done GOD LOVES US AND IS ALWAYS READY TO PICK US UP FROM THE SIN WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN. WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO LEAVE THAT SIN AND FOLLOW HIM. God loves you and me!

Unsupported connections made

For someone who didn't believe in god she certainly spent a lot of time looking for his punishments. I don't doubt her NDE account for one minute. But no part of it validates any of her previous demonic encounter nonsense. She stretches to the point of breaking in trying to make false connections.

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The Reluctant Hermit

03-23-14

nothing at all about NDEs. Pretty dull overall

I am interested in Near death experiences but in this book there is about two sentences about dying and meeting God. The rest of the book is a pretty dull story of an ordinary lower class life in Southern America bile belt area. Not interesting and the title of the book is misleading. Avoid it if you want to know about heaven or what it is like to have a near death experience. You won't learn anything here.

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Janice

04-28-17

A very honest and touching true story.

My husband and I have been deeply touched by the honesty of the writer of this book, Crystal McVea. Her story from the age of 3yrs touches on so many of life's challenges and her honest approach to each one. How she dealt with her "roller-coaster ride" of faith in God during those challenges, helps the reader to relate to their own issues of faith and trust in Him and how He never leaves us. Thank you, Crystal McVea.